3 Years!!

We've been married for 3 Years!! Hard to believe! We are not celebrating too much tonight since we had work until late. We are planning on celebrating in style on Saturday night at a nice Indian restaurant near our apartment!

Thanks for all the Anniversary Wishes!

Another Ski Trip

I actually got these pictures loaded earlier this week, but the my computer was on the fritz so I haven't had a chance to write anything. Here we go....

So last Sunday we went on another 'Powderbound' ski trip up to Tahoe. It had snowed the week before and was much colder then last time. It did start snowing lightly again later in the day. Brian, Moria, and I all signed up for level 2 ski lessons this time and Kevin went for a level 2 snowboard lesson. It was great getting to work on more of our skills and we got to go on more difficult slopes to practice.


Since Kevin was in a different lesson I didn't see him most of the morning. When I saw him on one of the runs I had to get a picture.

We all are getting so much better! It was a blast and if we weren't so cold I think that I could have kept on skiing!

Sarah and Jonathan also got in on the great deal. They weren't on the bus since they were late sign ups, but we found them and were able to ski together a little bit.
Can't resist a group shot!

We finally have our car back and it is a relief. I don't mind taking the train, but it has been raining all week and I don't exactly love walking to the train station in the rain. Kevin had to reset my factory settings to my computer, but luckily he was able to back up all my files and pictures. Hopefully that fixes all the problems!

Congrats to Heather and Joey

My good friend Heather and her husband Joey welcomed their daughter Avery Grace into the world yesterday! I am so happy for both of them and I can't wait to meet her. I'm hoping it won't be too long. She looks beautiful and it looks like everyone is doing very well.

Congrats to the new parents....wish you all the best!

Karaoke in S.F.

So last Friday we headed up to San Francisco to do a little karaoke. Our friend Lana decided we needed to stop being "lame" and go to the city. When we first arrived at the karaoke bar we were a little skeptical. It was a really tiny bar and you could barely make your way through or even find a place to sit. After a little bit though, half the people there were people in our group and we had a wonderful time.

Here is Whitney and me singing Madonna's "Like a Prayer".


Our car has been in the shop and Jean was kind enough to give us a ride up.

Us jamming out. For the life of me I can't remember which song we sang...I will have to ask Kevin later.


Kevin really can't resist being a background dancer. These guys had us all cracking up.
Kevin and Daryl singing made for a wonderful duet.

At some point someone in another group decided it would be a good idea to smoke a cigarette. (This isn't allowed in any restaurants or bars in California). Unfortunately they were right by the smoke alarm and set it off. The bar owners couldn't shut it off until the fire department arrived so we decided that it was probably time to head home even if it was still early.

I think the best part of the karaoke was the cheesy 80's videos that were on the screen. I almost died of hysteria when Kevin was singing "Born to Be Wild". I don't think I've ever seen such a horrible music video in my life.

Calzone Night and Superbowl

It has taken me a little bit to get these pictures loaded from last weekend, but I'm finally ready to post. Last weekend we were celebrating Dan's birthday with a 'make your own calzone' night. Neither Kevin or I had ever made calzones before so we really enjoyed the process. They tasted delicious as well so that is usually a bonus.


I think we are going to have to make them again at our place in the future.
Happy Birthday Dan!
After watching a few episodes of Futurama (Dan's favorite show) we played several games. Apples to Apples was a blast,but somehow I managed to do terrible at it that evening. At least Kevin did much better.

Sunday was of course Superbowl Sunday. We decided to keep it low key this year which was pretty easy to do since none of us really cared who won the game. Moria, Colin, and I decided to root for the Cardinals while Dave and Brian stayed true to the AFC by cheering on the Steelers. Kevin remained neutral and never really took a side. Here is Dave after an amazing Steelers play.


Even though the Cardinals lost, we got over it pretty quickly and were fine while watching the hour long episode of The Office that followed. A great way to spend a Sunday!

This week we have been having car issues and is becoming somewhat problematic. Nobody is entirely sure what the problem is and we are worried this is going to turn into a huge repair. Hopefully we figure out the problem soon and are back in commission. Kevin has been so great about getting the car into the shop and talking with the mechanics. I know he is as frustrated as I am with the car, but he is on his way to the shop now to talk with the guys! Thanks Kevin!!!

Roberts Burns B-day

Many of you probably didn't realize it, but this weekend was Robert Burns' 250th birthday. For those of you wondering who on earth Robert Burns is...I will tell you in as few sentences as possible. He was a poet and lyricist and is considered the National Poet of Scotland. In addition, he is regarded as the pioneer of the Romantic movement. He also had somewhat of a reputation for being a 'ladies' man.

I bet you are wondering why we would want to celebrate this dead poets birthday huh? The answer to that is simple. Our friend Brian loves Scotland. He is in love with Scotland and all things Scotland. He spent 6 months there and revisited again for a month later on. Therefore, we had to celebrate Robert Burns B-day. He has been talking about having a celebration for as long as I have known him.

Here is Brian all decked out for the big day. (Don't worry, he is wearing something underneath the kilt)


As part of the tradition we required music from a tin whistle to be played during the presentation of the haggis. Thank you Dave for your wonderful musical talent.

Then the reading of the 'Ode to Haggis before our meal of Haggis, Turnips, Tablet, Potato Leek Soup, Olive bread, Scottish Beer, and more. It was a unique meal, but good, and I left stuffed.
We finished off the evening watching an episode of 'Chewin' the Fat' which is a Scottish Sitcom. Parts of it were funny, but only when I could understand what they were saying.

After this party, we headed to another party to celebrate Australia Day at one of the Australian's apartments. This party wasn't quite as themed, but there was plenty of Australian decor. I left my camera in the car so I don't have any pictures of this. We didn't stay very late though. It was a Sunday evening and work in the morning. Overall a fun weekend though.

Skiing in Tahoe

I took these pictures old school with a disposable camera so it took me a little bit to get them developed and picked up. We had a few ski pics from last year on the camera too so it was good to finally get to see them. Moria brought her digital so there are more pictures, but I will have to get them from her later.


The trip we went on was awesome. It was a Stanford sponsored event for graduate students. This 'Powderbound' trip was designed for those who haven't been skiing/snowboarding very much. Kevin has been skiing quite a bit so he decided to try out snowboarding. I've really only been skiing once last year so I thought this trip would be good for me. We took a big bus up to Tahoe early last Sunday morning and arrived to rent our gear. After that we all got lessons and our instructor was great. After that, we had the rest of the afternoon to ski on our own. The best part of the trip was the fact that it only cost us $45 each!!! An amazing price!! We only had to buy food the rest of the time.

It was pretty warm that day, about 50 degrees so our layers quickly came off. I really felt like I was improving on my turns and had a blast. Last year I took a lesson, but it wasn't very good so I spent most of the time just trying to figure things out on my own. I feel like I've improved so much and I am excited to go skiing again and do more difficult slopes.

I think Brian and Moria also had a pretty good time. Brian had never been on skis before so it was a great opportunity for him. I don't know if he loves skiing yet like the rest of us, but hopefully we can get him to come back again. There is another 'Powderbound' trip for beginner/intermediate in Feb or March so maybe we could do that. Kevin's lab group is also planning a weekend ski trip so we may do that instead.



My new job is going pretty well. I love my co-workers and it feels great to not just be a student anymore! Plus, I just got my first paycheck (just one weeks worth of work) yesterday and I was so excited. This job pays so much better than the bookstore!!! We celebrated by going out for Thai food last night.